diehardtwinsfan

It doesn't help that our 40 man roster has considerably more pitchers than normal. It's a lost season, getting something of value for some of those pitchers would be beneficial. I'm not quite sure I'd trade Pressley and Rogers as I think they both have a future on this team, but Lynn, Rodney, and Duke should all be aggressively shopped if the team waives the white flag. All are on one year deals, and all should net something of value given their performance.

My problem with this (and as a moderator as well though this not necessarily directed at you) is that people are making way too many assumptions about his character with way too little evidence to back them up and then proceed with a character assassination. I think we can all agree that there's a maturity issue here, though to what extent is completely unknown. Obviously his weight is high, but I don't think that means he isn't conditioning himself at all (whether he's doing it properly is a different issue, and I'm fairly certain he's got a genetic component here too... remember he was always huge for his age, so much so that it was doubted during his IFA period). I'd also note, that plenty of overweight sluggers did just fine in MLB, and a few are in the HOF. His weight affects his defense much more than his offense in my humble opinion. To conclude however, that he's lazy, lines up at the buffet table, doesn't care, etc. (to quote a few lines I've read in this thread), is well out of line. Don't confuse results with intention. People can and do try and fail, and they also may not be trying hard enough. So please, let's frame in this in a more reasonable way. I'm hoping that whatever maturity issue is in play will result in some growing up in A ball on a minor leaguer's salary. At 24, that might work.

Lots of good things in here. That said, I do think any trades should be made with 2019 in mind. We had some poor performances on offense that I reasonably think will get righted at some point. I don't expect Sano and Buxton to be this bad next year. I think Kepler takes another step forward and a full season of Polanco should be a big upgrade over Adrianza. You left off Rodney - he had some bumps earlier in the year, but he's pitching well. I wouldn't expect a huge return here, but he should net a prospect, and he should without question be on the block. Someone will give a C+/B- type guy in the low minors with some upside.You also left off Duke - he will net something if he's on the block. I wouldn't be surprised for a similar return to Rodney, but probably a bit lower.Lynn - Sad to say, but he may be our best piece. He's righted the ship and has been pretty good for two months now. If that continues into July, I think he could get one pretty decent prospect. At best, the low end of the top 100, but most likely in the top 100-150 type range.Dozier - won't net more than a high risk/high reward type guy unless he goes on a hitting binge.... though if he goes on a binge, there's a reasonable chance we aren't selling. We could possibly get a comp pick or something like that for him, and given where we are most likely drafting, I'd have no problems stocking up on comp picks so that we have a big fat pool to play games and get a few better prospects.Escobar - this is a hard one. I'd expect a pretty decent return if he's traded, but this guy is a difference maker and needs to be locked up. I'm guessing he's been approached about an extension and said no, which is fine. If the plan is to QO him (and I think he takes this), I'm not trading him unless I get a really good return. I'd push hard for an extension if the QO is coming. If I traded him, I'd let him know that we plan on pursuing him as a starting 2B in 2019 (and probably the 5th infielder so to speak in 2020-2021/2). He's supremely valuable in that super utility role given his offensive capabilities. He's not a world burner defensively, but not horrible anywhere either. I'd have no problems giving him 4 years, which might actually get him back here this offseason. Unlike Dozier, he's not showing signs of aging, and he's incredibly flexible, which is needed in the days of a 3 man bench.Reed - I wouldn't trade him. He's locked up for 2019. He's overused this season. I might shut him down and force Molitor to earn trust with others not named Hildenberger.LoMo - I thought he was under contract for another year, but with an option, that's probably cut bait material. Problem is no one will want him. At best, I think he nets something minimal in August if he were to heat up suddenly, but without that, I doubt he gets anything.Santana - given he hasn't pitched much yet, I think your best hope at value is an August trade. I could also see them just giving him away if he's claimed. I think at best, you get a comp pick for him and probably have to pay the rest of his salary, and I'm very doubtful that happens. I expect him to stay in the org or be given away in August. I'll simply note that I'd still be buying on Realmuto as well, even as sellers. He's under control for 2 more years and would set us up with a nice combo with either Castro or Garver as his backup. That will be expensive, and more than likely wipe out any return from the trade above from a future value standpoint, but probably well worth it.

Titanium is light weight material.

Honestly, I understand where you're coming from. You're right that doing things the way they've been done for the only reason that this is the only way they've ever done that is silly. I don't think that's the case here. He can spend a few weeks in Etown and then get promoted if he's still mashing (which to date he is). It allows for the adjustment. And then the promotion. For the record, that's exactly what the new FO did with Rooker last year. I wouldn't be shocked in the least if Jeffers is on the same path. Jeffers' still needs to prove himself... and gain confidence. Maybe I'm wrong, but I do think this new FO has a better plan than the last FO. It's worth watching and seeing. Both, I might add are powerful. Let's wait and see what they do before we cast judgement.

I lost patience with him last year. Glad I was wrong.

I think most of MLB disagrees with you on this Rookie leagues for guys like Jeffers are for getting used to being on a pro-routine, learning a wood bat, and those types of things. The Twins were very aggressive with Rooker last year, by MLB standards, and he still played a few weeks in Rookie ball. If Jeffers keeps mashing, he will no doubt get a bump to one of the A ball affiliates. I'm not sure there's much to critique at this point.

trading Lynn is waiving the white flag on the season. He took a while to warm up, but he's pitching like the guy most of us hoped we were getting. His walk rate is a bit high, but beyond that, he's getting the job done quite well every 5th day. Given our position right now, we might waive the flag... we might not. Our pitching is good enough this year that if a few more guys step it up behidn the plate, we could close that gap with Cleveland quickly.

he looks quite a bit more muscular in general in 18 vs. 13... that's helping too I'm guessing.

I think the problem is that manager's impact is non-quantifiable. I think it's really unfair to say that a manager has little impact in the game.

the dog might pee on the umpires leg though. Might lead to an ejection.

Location of the pitch has a lot to do with it too... it's a lot harder to pull an outside pitch. I dont' care if the pitcher has the count or not, if you're getting a steady diet of pitches on the outer half, you have to stop trying to pull... And in Sano's case, he's strong enough to hit opposite field HRs.

I think it's a bit of folly to think that just b/c Dozier has always been streaky means that he can do it again. One, he's older. And two, when he's hot, he's hitting at an HOF caliber. It's just unreasonble to think/hope he can go on that kind of a hot streak. This season is looking like a lost season. I think the bigger thing is working with the young guys to take steps forward that are sustainable.

I'm not sure I'd call it trivial either. Mismanaged options can cause real problems down the road. I see no reason to add Gordon to the 40 man early unless the plan is to keep him here the rest of the season. Only way that happens in my opinion is waiving the white flag and trading Dozier, or some unexpected injuries to middle infielders after the team suddenly starts to contend.

I kind of hope Buxton gets optioned when he comes back as well. That's another bat that needs to get back on track. I'm fine with this move. He cannot strike out as much as he is and expect to be a decent major leaguer. We need better than a Rob Deer comp.

Considering that Romero had issues last year, I'd say it's safe to say that even if the Verducci effect is garbage, Romero certainly has issues with fatigue that need to be planned for. Once it's there, he's going to need a DL and it's quite possible the pen won't fix it. I guess my position is why not just go to a 6 man rotation at some point when Erv, May, or Gonsaves are ready. That would effectively put him on a limit without forcing the pen to consistently cover 4 innings. It might mean not carrying 20 relievers on the roster though.

That's been one of the tricks the Cardinals have used over the years. Draft a lot of college players from tough conferences. You won't get a lot of stars doing that, but you should end up with serviceable major leaguers.

I'm somewhat curious what Rooker's BB/K rate is in the last month. At both stops last year he started out with a lot of Ks and then settled into something a bit more reasonable. I'm curious if he's done that in AA as well.

I'm not sure these two facts are mutually exclusive. Perhaps I'm the only one, but I'd extend Buxton (especially now as he's cheap), and I wouldn't hesitate burning that option and giving him more time in AAA. I do think the guy can be a star. I also think he has a lot to learn, and I'm not convinced that he can learn it all in MLB.

I want to add to this. There's zero question that Buxton was promoted too early. Even the older administration, which was known for holding people back, promoted him very quick. For those that insist that people need to learn at the ML level, I present case A... Byron Buxton. He's been learning at the ML level, even when conventional wisdom would have said he needed to spend more time in the minors. I think you're right that he'll eventually get there, but this is a big reason why people debate holding guys back. You want to get value out of those cheap years, and no offense to Buxton, but that value has been lacking. But back to your point.... He's got 1k at bats... he's one of those who will probably need a bit more before we figure out what we have. Hopefully, his service time doesn't run out in the process.

St. Louis has the all time best day 3 pick... some guy named Pujols that was drafted in the 13th round.

Garver was the runner up to Stewart Turner for the Johnny Bench award in college. That award is given to defenders interestingly enough. Sounds like there's a pretty big gap between good college defenders and good pro defenders.

They can definitely right the ship, but as yesterday's game recap noted, time is starting to work against them. They key to the offense has always been Buxton and Sano. I'm not really willing to give either of them a mulligan right now, as both have been shades of terrible. Buxton wasn't hitting well before his injury, and other than the first week of the season, Sano has been pretty bad. Sano has hit a bit better of late, so perhaps he's coming out of it, but both desperately need to learn to lay off pitches they cannot hit (and in Sano's case, be willing to go oppo.. he's got the power to put them over the fence opposite field). Polanco coming back may help. At least it gets Adrianza out of the lineup. But yeah, those two need to hit and not keep striking out at a historic pace.

not a terribly popular last name. Wonder if he's related to Mark Funderburk

I'm guessing the conversation starts with Lewis, not Gordon. Besides, the Twins have more of a need for Gordon right now.